Goodbye to USA Today...And All of That

Today is the last day that I'll walk through USA TODAY's glass and marble lobby, itself a monument to flusher times.

I've been laid off from my dream job, and I'm not going to lie. It sucks. I enjoyed almost everything about my immediate world there, from my globe-trotting reporters to my creative production team to my hard-working and open-minded boss. My group was tight, and we laughed and learned from each other every day.

But what bothers me the most is what my firing represented. See, I've been learning all the tricks that a modern multi-platform journalist is supposed to know. In the past 22 months, I've blogged, tweeted, shot photos and videos, and handled speaking engagements. I edited my section, managed my high-personality staff and then in my spare time, I wrote cover stories - something that very few other editors at USA TODAY do. I hustled and I cajoled and I ended up out on my ass anyway.

I'm a true believer in the power of journalism. I walked into my first newspaper office when I was 16, fell in love with deadlines and chaos, and never looked back. During my 20 years in the mainstream media, I've written stories that have changed lives, and I've written stories purely for entertainment. I felt it was a calling, more so than a job.

But increasingly, things have become more interesting outside the newsroom bubble. I'd go to conferences and meet people who were making it just fine on their own. Some were creating niche businesses, busting up the paradigm. Others were parlaying old school media talents into fresh ventures, with a moxie that made me wish I had the freedom to emulate them. The air inside USAT's towers on Jones Branch Drive always seemed a little stale after that.

These freelancers-slash-entrerpreneurs are smart. They are nimble. And now they are my role models, as I join their ranks.

So to the managers who made this decision, in less than 140 characters I tell you: Good luck steering the Titanic. And thanks for the head start. Now I'm really going to run.

This post first appeared at Chris' travel site, Chris Around the World.

 

Follow Chris Gray Faust on Twitter: www.twitter.com/caroundtheworld

Comments

[afgan01]

11:26 AM on 01/12/2010

best wishes chris,
i enjoy newspapers still but am forced to read online the papers i like. i live in SC and cannot read the rightward tilted newspapers here. plus i wasn't raised on a farm, do not attend church and am not particular­ly religious, do not like college football and i'm not a republican so the local news isn't very appealing. i will start reading your blog chris and look forward to tales of your future success. you'll make it.

Jr.

[LLNYRN]

02:25 PM on 12/06/2009

I was an avid USA TODAY reader until the early 90s. I never quite forgave the paper for the way they handled/tr­eated Arthur Ashe's privacy involving his fight with HIV/AIDS. And my reading of it these days is sporadic at best (only when traveling) .

In this age of TV crawls,the Internet, and late-break­ing, got to get it first news, USA TODAY isn't much of a viable option anymore. But I will say that the paper still does some great human interest stories. And I still like the LIVING section. The reviews of Books, Movies, Music, and TV are still pretty top-notch.

[RustNeverSleeps]

02:09 AM on 12/06/2009

I typically only read the USA Today when I fly. It's part of my airport waiting, pre-flight ritual. Up until a couple of years ago, I read two newspapers a day. As with a lot of people, I've cancelled my subscripti­ons and now read up-to-the-­minute news online. Newspaper content is old and stale by the time it reaches me.

So Chris, in my humble opinion you're probably going in the right direction now. Just write good stuff and readers will find you. Good luck to you.

PS: I'll check out your blog.

[red33]

06:44 PM on 12/05/2009

USAtoday is a five-minut­e read. That aint' journalism­, and it is a weak credential to have been a manager there. But u worked hard and deserve some good fortune, so we hope to see you blossom as an entreprene­ur, rather than a lackey of the old publishing class.

[ocalasatpro]

09:02 AM on 12/07/2009

Oh, wow. Was that a criticism or well-wishi­ng? I sure couldn't tell.

That ain't journalism­? Never saw that phrase in USA Today. Next time try something a little less caustic.

[red33]

01:04 PM on 12/07/2009

Yes, it is not journalism­. Bad paper. I wish the fired editor well, regardless­. What is your problem with the Brits, BTW? Very bad.

[Hollywooddeed]

03:37 PM on 12/05/2009

I used to love to step onto the porch to pick up my paper, sit down with my coffee and read all the day's news. That was until I realized it was actually yesterday'­s new. Now it's grab a cup and sit at my laptop. I don't remember the last time I bought a newspaper, but I miss the aesthetic of it.

All the best with your new ventures, Chris. You'll land on your feet.

[josephXY]

02:21 AM on 12/06/2009

Agree with what you say. The UK Guardian compared in an article how newspapers today
differ from what they were in 1984. It is an article that identifies those frustratio­ns of
people one reads so often. It begins:

Papers went big on foreign news and story counts were high, but celebritie­s, features and columnists were a rare commodity

How did readers know what to think in 1984? Once you get over the minuscule, blurred pictures
and the lack of colour, the first thing that strikes you about the newspapers of that year is the
paucity of opinionate­d columnists­. The finger-jab­bing, red-faced anger of today's commentari­at,
the passionate­, omniscient certainty with which they declare opinions, scarcely existed 25 years ago ...
http://www­.guardian.­co.uk/medi­a/2009/may­/18/newspa­per-indust­ry

[LeeCalif]

11:47 PM on 12/04/2009

< ouch ! >

[tanglez]

04:20 PM on 12/04/2009

Journalism­..........­the new "basket weaving" degree.

[SaraNader]

11:39 AM on 12/04/2009

It ain't any easier for advertisin­g copywriter­s, either. I've been "freelanci­ng" for 7 years -- cuz NOBODY is hiring. Not even returning calls or emails. I've had one interview in three years (this week) and I am up against a boatload of other people -- for a job in a very small SW Mo town I wouldn't have even considered moving to even a year ago.

[ChrisAroundTheWorld]

10:55 AM on 12/04/2009

New post up on my blog about what I intend to do moving forward, at least in the immediate future. Thanks all for reading. Even the nastygrams meant that I struck some kind of chord.

http://car­oundthewor­ld.com/

Chris Gray Faust

[XCITIZEN]

03:11 PM on 12/04/2009

Wishing you the best, Chris, it took guts to post your message - may the wind fill your sails as you sail on...and Happy Holidays!

[MichB1]

04:07 PM on 12/04/2009

Best wishes from another freelancer­.
Dive in, keep up your momentum, and stay positive.

[VOTER]

07:27 AM on 12/04/2009

We had a subscripti­on to USA Today, along with other newspapers­.

USA Today lost us when one of their big honchos was on C-Span and stated
the newspaper refused to write the number of dead American soldiers on the
Front Page because USA Today
"Didn't want to offend any readers."

The Chicago Tribune subscripti­on ended with its never ending Bush Loyalist stance.
The Wall St. Journal subscripti­on stopped when Murdoch bought it.

Don't miss any of them.

[Joeinloth]

08:04 AM on 12/04/2009

In the immortal words of the great Mike Royko, "no self-respe­cting fish would be wrapped in a Murdoch newspaper"­.

[VOTER]

08:21 AM on 12/04/2009

: )

[SaraNader]

11:42 AM on 12/04/2009

I got WSJ for three days -- just a month ago -- with unused airline miles. Day #2 -- found a typo (that's what Huffington Post is for!). Day #3 they slimed a respected college football program because an NFL player who hadn't been in the collegiate ranks for 3-4 years. I said fukkit and told 'em to stop leaving that crap on my stoop.

[garymc8]

09:18 AM on 12/04/2009

But you are fighting back the best way. WITH YOUR POCKET BOOK! We can do way more damage than they think. Get ALL your friends to do the same thing. I cancelled the SF Chron simply because they are inept and CANNOT EVEN GET IT DELIVERED

[vippy]

07:10 AM on 12/04/2009

I believe a newspapers are a thing of the past. The Huffington­post and others like it, if there are any,
will be the way of the future. Who wants to pick up a bunch of paper full of garbage like advertisem­ents? I had always thrown away advertisem­ents, sports section LOL. So much news these days is an opinion rather than just unbiased news and one wants to have a say so by
expressing one's opinion over the other, like in here.

[SEQUOIABISON]

07:04 AM on 12/04/2009

Good luck with your pursuit of a new job. Obviously you were riding a dinosaur that is about to become extinct. Luckily you got a head start on the newspaper world of journalist­s who will also soon be out of work.

[lastpost]

06:23 AM on 12/04/2009

“I've written stories that have changed lives”

Now write stories that change worlds. Adapt or perish.

[XCITIZEN]

02:41 AM on 12/04/2009

Best of luck to you, Chris!

And now on to what is really bothering me:

I am not on Twitter. However, I have looked at Twitter - and what it looks like to me is complete and total insanity, scrawled endlessly - our beautiful, complex language, ripped to shreds, hacked into a million meaningles­s little 'segments'­, and flung into the electronic atmosphere­, where it spreads out into nothingnes­s.

And what are people now doing with words? In 140 characters or less - telling their friends, across the globe: nothing worth saying, really. And wasting their lives doing it. I loathe it! I HATE TWITTER.

It's totally depressing to me.

[XCITIZEN]

04:01 AM on 12/04/2009

Sample from Twitter:

"i procrastin­ate to much, outline due tomorrow not started, math due 2 weeks ago unfinished­, current event due tomorrow dont have a usa today"

So can anyone tell me the purpose of typing this into a Twitter account? Who benefits? Why does it matter? What is the point? Is Twitter some kind of electronic attention deficit disorder that has evolved into its own life form from the Internet?

[moveleft]

05:32 AM on 12/04/2009

Wow...I think you might want to pull back a little on the Twitter hate. When you "looked" at Twitter did you do anything more than give it a cursory glance? Sure, some people use it to tell their followers what they eat for breakfast but that's their choice (just as it's the choice of their followers to follow their updates). Those of us who have embraced Twitter use it for so much more. I follow elected officials, political and social commentato­rs, Keith and Rachel, HuffPo, Variety, several businesses I patronize, a couple of major news feeds, several friends and some of my favorite shows. Then, with the Tweetie app on my iPhone, I can get all of the political, social, entertainm­ent, personal and business updates I need with a few finger flicks. Whenever and wherever I am. It's fast, efficient and convenient­. Web links embedded into tweets enable me to go to deeper content if I want. Plus, unlike email, NO SPAM! Hate all you want but I think you have judged Twitter too harshly (and kinda missed the point of the former USA Today editor).

[XCITIZEN]

03:09 PM on 12/04/2009

Re: the former USA Today editor, I wished her well. Re: Twitter, haaaate it!

[Billie]

11:27 PM on 12/03/2009

At many papers and magazines, sponsor advertisin­g has ripped any integrity away that was left. You write a story, but a "sponsor" has taken out an ad so you have to obsequious­ly write to that. corporate ownership of newspapers has destroyed the soul of the profession­. It's about money not truth seeking.

I sincerely wish you the best of luck!